This invention relates generally to a method and system for caching objects in a computing system, and more particularly to a cache adapter that provides a generic interface between applications operating within a cluster computing system and data replication applications also operating within the cluster computing system.
A cache is a collection of objects stored in a temporary storage area. The objects are duplicates of original objects that are stored elsewhere. Substantial time and computing resources are often required to retrieve the original objects from their storage locations compared to the time needed to retrieve the object from the cache's temporary storage area. The cache expedites the access of the collection of objects stored therein. A variety of methods are used to determine which objects to store in a cache and the duration of their stay.
In cluster computing systems, a group of computers are linked together through a network to generally function as a single computer. An application operating within the cluster computing system may receive input from a plurality of the computers in the cluster computing system. Accordingly, objects cached on one computer in the cluster often need to be distributed and cached on other computers in the cluster to maintain consistency.
A variety of data replication applications are available to facilitate the distributed caching of objects within the cluster. These applications differ from each other in the type and format of information required to interact with the data replication application. As such, the applications operating within the cluster must be modified to interact with a specific data replication application. Once an application has been modified to utilize a particular data replication application, significant time and resources are required to adapt the application to utilize a different data replication application or an updated version of the particular data replication application.
Accordingly, an adapter configured to function as an intermediary between applications operating within a cluster computing system and data replication applications also operating within the cluster computing system. The adapter should be easily configurable to allow implementation of different versions of the same data replication application or different data replication applications. In such a system, operators of the cluster computing system should be able to easily integrate data replication applications.